Satellite communications firm Speedcast has sold its ground station infrastructure to investment firm EQT.

EQT Infrastructure VI and SatPort Infrastructure this week announced that SatPort has completed the acquisition of the teleport infrastructure business from Speedcast.

The acquired business comprises 12 teleports across 11 countries and five continents, and more than 100 staff. Speedcast will remain a customer under a new long-term infrastructure services agreement.

Terms of the deal were not shared.

“The completion of this transaction positions Speedcast to continue to benefit from reliable, world-class ground infrastructure, while allowing us to focus on delivering our core connectivity services and innovating for customers through development of our SIGMA intelligent Edge platform,” said Ross Rosenberg, CEO of Speedcast. “SIGMA helps customers turn remote operational data into actionable insights and enables us to expand our position as a leading connectivity and Edge intelligence partner in an industry being reshaped by low Earth orbit satellite constellations.”

SatPort was formed by EQT Infrastructure to provide ground infrastructure for satellite constellations. SatPort combines deep operational expertise with the long-term capital and capabilities to fund, develop, and scale critical infrastructure globally. The acquisition of Speedcast’s ground infrastructure network will further enhance SatPort’s offering for customers around the world.

Carl Sjölund, partner at EQT Infrastructure, said: “The satellite industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation, with rapidly growing constellations creating an unprecedented need for ground infrastructure. Just as we have seen in towers, fiber, and data centers, we believe the next phase of growth will be supported by independent, specialized infrastructure platforms that can serve multiple customers at scale. With SatPort, we are building a global leader in this emerging infrastructure category. The acquisition of Speedcast’s teleport business is an important milestone in that journey, and we’re excited to support Joe and his team in realizing the significant opportunity ahead.”

SatPort was formed by EQT Infrastructure to provide ground infrastructure for satellite constellations. The company delivers build-to-suit teleport and gateway solutions for LEO, MEO, and GEO constellations.

This latest deal builds on SatPort’s previous build-to-suit agreement with Telesat, signed in September 2026, to develop, build, and host landing stations for the satellite operator’s Lightspeed low Earth orbit constellation.

Joe Spytek, SatPort CEO, said: “With this acquisition, SatPort has built a platform with the global network and operational expertise to provide tailored ground infrastructure for operators in any orbit. With long-term backing from EQT Infrastructure, we’re excited to continue growing the platform to serve the next generation of satellite operators as they scale worldwide, allowing our customers to focus on their constellations while we take care of the infrastructure on the ground.”

Founded in 1999 and owned by private investment firm Centerbridge Partners, Speedcast sells satellite communication services. The company serves more than 350 customers in approximately 50 countries and more than 1,100 maritime vessels and offshore rigs. The previously publicly-listed company went bankrupt in 2020 and was acquired the following year by Centerbridge.

On its website, Speedcast says its network includes 55+ antennae spanning nine meters or greater in size. Its network of 35 owned and partner teleports connects to an integrated fiber optic MPLS backbone spanning 32 points of presence (PoPs), providing uplink and downlink to 95 satellite networks across Ku-, Ka-, and C-bands. News that Speedcast was potentially looking to offload its ground station infrastructure surfaced in March 2025.

Speedcast owns and operates teleports in Laurel, Maryland; Miami, Florida; Lima, Peru; Macaé, Brazil; Aberdeen, UK; Amsterdam and Biddinghuizen, Netherlands; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Singapore; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Perth, Adelaide, and Sydney, Australia. The company launched a teleport in Cali, Colombia, in 2024, set to serve Eutelsat’s OneWeb fleet.

While selling off infrastructure assets and leasing them back in part or whole has long been the norm in the terrestrial telecoms industry, such break-ups are traditionally less common in the space sector.

Microsoft sold off its ground station infrastructure to Space Leasing International after ending its Azure Orbital ground station service in 2025.

EQT was previously set to acquire European satellite firm Eutelsat’s ground station infrastructure in a sale-leaseback deal signed in late 2024. The deal, however, was cancelled earlier this year after the French intervened to block the deal.

Guggenheim Securities served as financial advisor to Speedcast and Kirkland & Ellis served as legal advisor. Deutsche Bank served as financial advisor to EQT Infrastructure, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison served as legal advisor.